When Mark Breaks suggested a trip to
Cuba last year I thought that by the time March came around, it would be ideal
to have a holiday after several months solid work. And
so plans were made, flights booked and hotel reservations made, with a lot of
help from Andy Mitchell (andy@witsend.freeserve.co.uk). Mark, Rob Hughes and I flew out of
Manchester direct to Varadero with Thompson Airlines
- the leg room was excellent putting some national airlines to shame. Ten hours
later we breezed though immigration and customs - a bit of interest in our
telescopes but no problem with iPhones - and made our
way to the car rental place to pick up our Seat Ibiza (believe me, it was the
best of a bad bunch!)

Our first hotel was in nearby Mataznas (Hotel Canimao). As our arrival process was swift we managed to
get some birding in before dark in the hotel grounds that bordered a river.
This turned out to be rather good allowing ourselves to get acquainted with
some of the commoner Cuban birds. The hotel was rather dated but the grounds
were excellent, perhaps not of Senegambia quality but 28 species in a couple of
hours were most welcome.

Already we were fed up with Turkey Vultures which were absolutely
everywhere and we has soon added a couple of all black species in the form of Greater Antillean Grackle and Cuban Blackbird. Cuban Pewee and Northern Mockingbird showed themselves
well as did Red-legged Thrush, Cuban
Emerald, WestIndian Woodpecker
and Common Ground Dove - all common
species around the island. Down by the river we added Brown Pelican, Little Blue Heron, Belted Kingfisher and Antillean
Palm Swifts amongst others.

Our first North American warbler of the
trip was a Palm Warbler - and then
another, and another...... they were very common wherever we went. American Redstart was another species
that we saw all over the island though in lower numbers and Yellow-throated Warbler was a very
welcome lifer! An immature White-eyed
Vireo gave us a bit of a challenge.

Yellow-throated Warbler

9th March

The
following morning we got up before dawn and searched the grounds again before
breakfast; Red-legged Honeycreeper
(four of them) was added to the list - the best views of this species all
holiday - as well as a host of warblers including Tennessee, Black-throated Blue, Black and White, Cape May and Prairie, the latter another stonking bird that we came across regularly. We also got
our first encounter with the fluorescent, diminutive Cuban Tody.

Cuban Tody

After a pathetic breakfast we made our
way to our first 'proper' destination. Two and a half hours west on the other
side of Havana towards Pinar del Rio is a region of limestone escarpments with
a particular fauna. La Guira is a national park in
the area and that's where we were heading for, staying at Hotel Mirador at San Diego de los Banos.

The trip was,erm, interesting! Cuban roads are notoriously bad and full
of pot holes and we weren't disappointed. There are very few road signs and
driving through busy towns with bikes and pedestrians, following lorries that
are belching black smoke for miles or two-stroke motor bikes that knock you out
with the fumes or a horse and cart around a no-overtaking corner tested ones
patience - and then when there is a clear stretch of road (and there are many)
it's pothole dodging at speed that normally necessitates driving on the wrong
side of the road. Crossing over a bridge with a pool of water produced a Green
Heron and flocks of Cave Swallows preparing for breeding.

Cave Swallow

On reaching the 'motoway'
(autopista) we picked up speed and dodging potholes
took on a new dimension. It wasn't a problem - you had four lanes to dodge into
as there was no other traffic to speak of (apart from horse and cart going the
wrong way in the fast lane). We skirted Havana successfully with only one wrong
turn and just as we got out of the suburbs we stopped to look at a marshy
fringed reservoir that held lots of birds. A few Forster's Terns were quickly noted as well as large rafts of Ruddy Duck, American Coot, Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, Shovelerand Blue-winged Teal. A few Pied-billed and Least Grebes were dotted around along with several herons and
egrets.

American
Kestrels of both red and
white-breasted forms and Cattle Egrets
were commonly seen en-route and another brief stop at a likely looking patch of
water got us our only Whistling Ducks
of the trip - 15 of the Fulvous
variety. We found the hotel and checked in but soon set of out to try for Cuban Grassquitas
there was a good 'site' for this once common species nearby. After a bit of
searching, Rob found the target species and soon we all had a good but
all-too-brief view of two males in amongst a flock of the much commoner Yellow-faced Grassquits.
A couple of miles up the road was the entrance to the park and a small lake
where we got much better views of Least
Grebe as well as lots of other species such as American Purple Gallinule, LoggerheadKingbird, Le Sagra's Flycatcher and Cuban Vireo bringing the day's total to
69.

Cuban GrassquitLeast
Grebe

10th March

I awoke on Saturday morning not feeling
terribly well. We'd got directions to the best place for the Cuban Solitaire
from local guide, Cesar, so we decided we'd have a go at driving in the dark. A
good job it was because 100 yards down the road I had to yell to Mark to stop
so I could debunk and empty the contents of my stomach. Soon we were back on
the road again and following one more emergency stop, we arrived at Cuevas de
Portales which was where Che Guevara and his merry
men had their hide out. Anyway, it's a campsite for Cubans now - we were told
to get there early as they play music at full volume from 9am.

We were taken to the entrance by the
guard who seemed completely unphased about visitors
at 7am - we could hear the Cuban Solitaires
singing. Soon we were in the 'garden' on the other side of the cave, a
wonderful oasis filled with birdsong of all sorts. Cuban Tody's were all around, their
fluorescent plumage glowing in the dim corners of the forest. White-crowned and Scaly-naped Pigeons sat out on show (this
was the only place we actually registered the latter) and we got a fantastic
performance by a solitaire - unfortunately far too dark for any pictures. Both
Mark and Rob got glimpses of Yellow-headed
Warbler but I had to wait until later in the trip for mine. More birds were
showing in the scrub around the campsite but the music was on (and loud) so we
headed for a site further up the hill where more birds could be seen.

Cuban TrogonCuban
Solitaire

It was getting hot but I wasn't feeling
too bad so once we'd parked the car under the pines we made our way up to a
traditional site for the Solitaires.

Another speciality, Olive-capped Warbler, was common here
with its Willow Warbler-like song and soon we were seeing more birds including Solitaires and Cuban Trogons.

We headed back to the hotel at midday
where I spent the rest of the day getting myself ready for the long drive the
following day whilst the lads went searching for other goodies - Snail Kites and a few other bits and
pieces. The day had produced a total of 71 species and luckily I was fit enough
to see the special birds of the area!

11th March

Sunday 11th March - it's my birthday
and fortunately I've slept for 18 hours and shaken off the tummy bug. I want my
breakfast but the clock went forward during the night so we and several Italian
guests were waiting patiently outside the restaurant in the rapidly brightening
sky. As it turned out the clocks don't go forward in Cuba. Please note: a) the
stewardess on the plane that told us they did, and b) Apple as my iPhone reset itself - I ended up having to work an hour
ahead of everyone for the rest of the trip!

Today was going to be a long one in the
driving seat as we had some distance to travel to get to our 5* all-inclusive
hotel on Cayo Coco which is half way and more across
the island. The trip was rather entertaining at first,
we hit the Carreta Central to get to the Auotpista only to find that the ex-main road led straight
into a reservoir - oops!

We got lots of American Kestrels and a few Eastern
Meadowlarks along the way and I managed to catch up with the Snail Kites and Tri-coloured Munias at the fish-ponds by
the side of the road.

We also stopped again at the large
reservoir outside Havana but there was nothing new to see there so after a bite
to eat we successfully skirted around Havan and I took over driving the long and
not-at-all-winding four lane autopista to its end at
a town call Taguasco. We passed field after field of
sugar cane or banana or rough grazing, dodged the locals trying to sell you
their cheese as you hurtle past but saw few birds along the way - Northern Harrier being the best.

We joined the old carreta
central and it was thankfully free of large lorries.
At Ciego de Avila we came across road works - as you do - the 'bollard' was
about three feet in front of the men working and, later on we came across a new
patch of wet tar which we avoided like the rest of the traffic by randomly
driving on the other carriageway - MAD! About 5pm we'd reached the base of the
causeway over to the cays; our passports were checked and we were on our way
and very, very soon enjoying a 'Magnificent' birthday present.

Along with the Magnificent Frigatebirds were Royal Terns, a few Laughing Gulls and thousands of distant American Flamingos - and very few potholes!

Magnificent Frigatebird

12th March

So this is what a Caribbean holiday is meant to be like........

Not on your nelly!
There were birds to be had! We planned to start early at the "Wild Boar
Park" where there were some drinking pools in amongst the dense forest of
the cays at which we might get a glimpse of all sorts of birds including
Key-West Quail Dove and Zapata Sparrow.

Without too much more of ado, we got to
the first destination in time to see lots of birds - Oriente Warbler were very noisy and conspicuous along with Todys, Western Spindalis,
Cuban Bullfinch, Cuban Emerald and all manner of American warblers.

Cuban BullfinchCuban
Emerald

There was no sign of the doves or
sparrow in three hours of scanning but it was certainly a great morning's
birding. We tried another location nearby where the sparrow had been seen on
previous trips but still we drew a blank though a pool en route produced a few
waders including Stilt Sandpipers.

A visit to a nearby beach produces more
Frigatebirds
and this very obliging Cuban Black Hawk!

Cuban Black Hawk

After lunch we sat out the heat of the
day before heading west to Cayo Guillermo. The
stretch of sand between the two cays was stuffed with birds and we found
several species of wader for the trip list (and a couple of lifers too!). There
were lots of Semi-palmated
Plovers, Semi-Palmated, Western and Least Sandpipers, Willets, Short-billed Dowitchers, Dunlin, Turnstone and a lone HudsonianWhimbrel.

And then there were the herons - Reddish, Tri-coloured, Little Blue, Snowy
Egret, White Ibis, etc. Just wish this place was nearer the hotel. We had
to press on as time was against us and we needed to search out a Bahama Mockingbird.

Bahama Mockingbird

To say we timed things rather tightly
would be an understatement but having searched though umpteen Northern Mockingbirds we re-traced our
steps to an area below a lookout post and there we or rather Mark found the
target bird, Bahama Mockingbird - it gave us tantalising
views, not like the Northerns sitting on top of
bushes but see it we did!

The only thing left was to head for a
lagoon next to one of the hotels in the rapidly dimming light which was also
stuffed with birds - Flamingos, Stilts,
Blue-winged Teal, Sora and Clapper Rails to name but a few. 76 species for the day and the
trip list growing already to a very respectable 126.

13th March

Today it was Robs turn to have is Birthday so it was off to Cayo
Romano for yet more birding via what was supposed to be a rather dodgy bridge.
Fortunately for us, they'd built the best bridge in the country - leading, on
the face of it to nowhere, the road blocked by a metal chain. There were more
gulls and herons here but we needed to head off to an area near the lighthouse
where we found our target species really quickly. Cuban Gnatcatchers were in the first bit of scrub we came to (and
then were prominent all along the path) and
Thick-billed Vireos were singing all over the place.

Thick-billed Vireo

Magnificent
Frigatebirds
flew overhead and Crested Caracaras
to boot!

Magnificent FrigatebirdCrested
Caracara

On our way back we enjoyed more of the Cuban avifauna with Cuban Pewees again prominent and - a Lesser Black-backed Gull? No, two LBBGs!

We learnt later that one of the LBBGs
(with a gamy foot) had been present a number of years. After our now customary
siesta/chill time we tried for the Zapata Sparrow again but again failed
miserably. Anyway it was 80 species for the day and 137 for the trip.

14th
March

The guys got up early enough on our
last day to finally get to grips with the Yellow-crowned
Night Heron and so we set off for a final attempt at the Sparrow and Quail
Dove which was only partially successful as Rob got the latter on the deck
whilst Mark and I had flight views only. And still no sign of the sparrows. So
after a quick breakfast (yes, food!!!) we checked out of our relatively
luxurious accommodation but not before enjoying close views of several Cuban Martins. We then headed
south-east to the other side of Camaguey and the finca
at La Belen.

Cuban Martin

The drive was relatively uneventful
until the last 30km which took us an hour and a half. Before that we'd passed
through several countries and US states including Florida.

Once we arrived at La Belen, we were
allowed through the gates and started birding immediately - new birds came
thick and fast; exciting ones like Plain
Pigeon and Cuban Crow!!!!
Actually, the calls of the Cuban Crows
were something else as they sound more like gobbling turkeys giving a weird
atmosphere to the place.

Soon we were seeing Cuban Rose-throated Parrots, Cuban Parakeets and Giant Kingbirds not
to mention more warblers and a Rose-breasted
Grosbeak for good measure - and all that just before it got dark. This
turned out to be our biggest total day with 84 species and 145 for the trip.

15th March

The next day we had our first guide - a
requirement for birding off-piste as it were. However we were already storming
through the endemics here seeing Cuban
Pygmy Owl before breakfast so there were just a couple more to see. Camillo was a lovely chap; knew his birds and the English
bird names but spoke no English. Actually no-one here spoke any English so it
was up to me to try and converse with everyone. We didn't get quite what we
thought we'd get for dinner but it was food and edible!

Cuban Pygmy Owl

The birds continued to show well in
this very dry area of the country that hadn't seen any rain for 12 months. Lots of woodpeckers, kingbirds and crows plus our first Limpkins and Cowbirds (eventually!).

16th March

We left the area after two nights here.
Not all that many species but definite quality. Today we had another long drive
to the Zapata area where we were to spend the final few days of our holiday. A
marshy pool en-route gave us some more new birds for the trip in the form of Black-crowned Night Heron and Northern Jacana, the latter a bird I thought
we'd see more of.

After another marathon journey we
reached our final stop on our birding tour of Cuba - Playa Larga
on the Bay of Pigs. A thunderstorm was brewing and a few Frigatebirds had been displaced
up to the head of the bay where our accommodation was.

The trip list now stood at 153 and four
full days around Playa Larga on the Bay of Pigs
promised even more!

17th
March

The Casa Particular we stayed at was
small but comfy. They served wonderful food and was
the best value for money we had on the trip. Egrets at breakfast!

We were on the world famous Zapata
Peninsula where there are large tracts of unspoilt woodland and marsh - you
can't get anywhere near most of it but all the special birds of the area could
be found within a few miles of Playa Larga. However
that few miles could and did take ages to cover as the tracks we went down
were, well, I was amazed the car came back in one piece.

As at La Belen, it is mandatory to have
a guide if you go off the main roads in the area. Ours was Angel - he asked us
for a list of the birds we wanted to see and we set off! First
target Quail Doves and Bee Hummingbird. We didn't drive far but then had
a long walk down innumerable dark forest tracks, not the best places to take
pictures but there were plenty of birds around. We heard Blue-headed Quail Dove (the rarest one) but were thwarted at every
turn. However our mood was enlivened when we stopped at a glade with a bare
tree and on top of that tree was the diminutive Bee Hummingbird, the smallest bird in the world trilling out its
song.

Bee Hummingbird

Having enjoyed two males and a female
in the area we carried on along the path; I looked down a ride that was
perpendicular to us and there was a Blue-headed
Quail Dove at the end smartly moving away to cover - and another that went
in the other direction. Wow! Lucky or what? We waited
ages to be rewarded with a couple of Grey-headed
Quail Doves (the commonest here) and then a little further round, a lone Ruddy Quail Dove that sat motionless
(most peculiar for this genus it seems).

Blue-headed Quail DoveGrey-headed Quail Dove

Yellow-headed
Warblers were common here so
I finally caught up that species. We headed back to the Casa as it was getting
rather warm but the forest floor was moving. Millions of Red Land Crabs migrate
to the coast at this time of year to lay their eggs - they started to move around
midday and by the mid afternoon they were everywhere. This led to carnage on
the roads, and the stench of crab in the air where the
main crossings were. We'd been told to be careful as the shells are sharp and
there had been lots of ripped tyres, best trick is to follow a lorry or coach
as they don't care.

After our afternoon break we headed out
again in search of owls and successfully saw Cuban Screech (Bare-legged) and another Fernandina's Flicker nest but that was about it. In terms of
species count, this was our lowest day with just 51 but our trip list was now
at a rather impressive 159.

Cuban Screech Owl

18th March

'Twas an earlier start today in order to try
and get Cuban Nightjar on the road down to Latuga
where we hoped to see more endemics. Unfortunately there were no nightjars and
it seemed that when we got to the Zapata
Wren site, there were none of them showing either. We could hear a couple
but Angel's tape lure just wasn't working. So I tried the call on my iPhone and hey presto! Relatively great
views of this very localised and secretive species. I didn't manage any
photos but with a bit of luck Mark will have one (he's far quicker on the draw
- I'm too busy trying to find the bird!).

Zapata Wren

Anyway there were a few Red-shouldered Blackbirds in the area
(and Tawnies
just to confuse) as we headed off to the site for the sparrows. We were
basically on a track surrounded by deep ditches that led off to all point of a
huge expanse of Sawgrass bog. We searched for the
sparrows but to no avail - was this species going to be our bogey bird having
missed it at Cayo Coco where it's meant to be
"Common". We eventually gave in and returned to the woods at Soplillar to search for stuff we'd not seen yet - a Stygian Owl was definitely the best
bird along with a few more Grey-headed
Quail Doves. We searched for another endemic - Gundlachs's
Hawk, a rare but widely distributed large Sparrowhawk
essentially. That too was proving to be difficult!

Stygian Owl

After a long afternoon's repose, we set
off for Cuban Nightjar and when it
was virtually completely dark we heard them singing and managed to get some
silhouette views as they flew over us.

19th March

So Monday was a make or break day for the remaining endemics and our last day
with Angel. We were also joined by Andy Mitchel who'd
concluded his organised group trip and informed us that they too hadn't seen
Zapata Sparrow at Cayo Coco nor Cuban Grassquit. So we set off down a horrendous track leading
out into the marsh - 23km or so that took a long time. However, once we'd got into the marshy bit proper
there was the promise of birds. Plenty of egrets and herons around but
eventually we found our quarry and Zapata
Sparrow was added to the list.

Zapata Sparrow

We had a lovely Wilson's Snipe on the return leg and Rob
had brief views of a rail sp.!!! But it was interminable bumpy roads again for
an hour or so and then a trip to Soplillar again for
that hawk. Angel took us to a nest site but there were no birds around and
though we tried the following day, it was to be the only endemic that we had a
chance of seeing that we didn't. However Mark spotted a Swainson's Warbler in a dense area of woodland that was part of a mixed
warbler flock - a rarity but one can only wonder how many are missed as it was
very difficult to pick up. We were all very happy with that lifer when I saw a
bright yellow head - "Blue-winged
Warbler!". Rob had been desperate to see this
species and Mark and I had previously seen them in Canada, but what a stonker and amazingly difficult to pick up despite its
brighter colours.

Swainson’s Warbler

We said our farewells to Angel and did a spot of birding along the road in the
afternoon but there just weren't the birds to be seen - just loads of crabs to
crunch over!

20th March

We managed to arrange for another guide
for our final day to take us down to Salinas - most weren't bothering as it had
been so dry but we had lots of good views of some waterbirds
and added a few more to the list including Wood
Stork and American White Pelican.

Our final trip was to search for the
hawk again but to no avail, however we were taken to the back garden in Palpate
where we had wonderful close views of a female Bee Hummingbird - and Mark got a
pic!

Bee Hummingbird

21st March

The trip to the airport on Wednesday
was interesting - we scoured the area around the Crocodile Farm for warblers
but it was to be our only day that we didn't add a new bird to the trip list
which stood in the end at a very impressive 172. I'd got 89 lifers and some great
experiences. We took our time getting back going through villages and taking in
the dry Cuban countryside.

American Purple Gallinulel

If you're thinking of going to Cuba,
then do it. I get the feeling things are changing and it might not be for the
better. Apart from the hugely expensive car hire and expensive hotels on the
cays, it's a good value birding trip - perhaps not as many species as in South
America but a pace you can enjoy. I felt extremely safe wherever we went and
the people were very friendly, especially the further away from Havana you go.
Thanks, Cuba for some memorable birds!